1993 was a magic year. Pharcyde had just come out with "Bizarre
Ride II the Pharcyde" and Dr. Dre had blessed us with "The Chronic."
KRS-One put out his seminal classic "Return of the Boom Bap."
Even Run-D.M.C. seemed poised to recapture their glory on "Down
With the King." Then suddenly, the whole world of rap was stood
on it's head with a single, timeless, and ground-breaking album.

These days, the Wu-Tang Clan's name is so well-known that even
your grandpa probably rocks Wu-Wear boxer shorts, but back when
their debut single "Protect Ya Neck" was released they were a
cold splash of water straight to the face. Naysayers were instantly
skeptical about their success and issued a long litany of complaints:
the tracks aren't well-mastered, it sounds like somebody's demo tape,
and who the fuck are these guys with the kung-fu movie samples?
They missed the point, and to this day they're probably still
scratching their heads and wondering why the Clan blew up.

Founding Clan members Prince Rakeem (RZA) and the Genius (GZA)
had both been down that road before. Both had been signed to
a record label. Both had released their "slick and polished"
rap songs and had seem them sink beneath the waves quicker than
Pussy Bompensiero. They had to be wondering, "Why?" It could
be argued they were ahead of their time, but even their very
styles had changed by the time the Wu-Tang Clan came together.
Listening to these pre-Wu songs leaves you with one impression:
they had talent, but being forced to express it in cornball
crossover cleaned up rap songs stifled their creativity.

By getting back to square one, they realized that the only
way to go was to get dirty - to make the kind of raps that
hit with their boys first, and let the audience get it later.
They developed this theme by using the martial arts movies
of their early youth for inspiration. To be sure, there is
a pure "comedy" element to these films with their bad english
translations and poorly overdubbed dialogue, but these films
also featured gifted athletes performing spectacular feats
of strength and dexterity. Thus they became the perfect
breeding ground for Wu-Tang's sound - seemingly flawed to
an unperceptive eye but containing hidden depths of beauty
which reveal themselves to the watchful and wise.

So dirty, they were clean. So rugged, they were beautiful.
The Wu-Tang Clan may not have planned it that way, but that
was the impact they had when they surprised the nation with
"Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers." The theme was so strong
and powerful it immediately captured the imagination of
hip-hop heads everywhere - a clan of lethal rapping warriors
whose versatile styles could attack you from every angle.
Some people had their favorites right away - the loquacious
GZA, the drunken Ol' Dirty Bastard, the charmingly gruff
Method Man, and so on - but what made this album incredible
was how they COMBINED together. It was the purest
expression of gestalt - a sum whose whole was definitely
greater than the total of the individual parts/rappers.

The album seems deceptively short by today's standards
at twelve tracks long, but the album clocks in at nearly
an hour long and there is only one true "interlude" which
wasn't even seperated into it's own track - it was just
tacked on to the end of their soulful lament "Can it
Be All So Simple." From the album's introduction onward
the tone is strongly set: "Do you think your Wu-Tang
sword can defeat me?" declares the sample, and the group
responds with both a challenge and a threat: "Bring Da
Ruckus." The single eerie whine in the background is
quickly surplanted by a dark and moody piano chords,
all of which are held together by the snapping fingers.
Even more powerful than this sonically haunting track
is the pure venom displayed by the GZA when he says
"My Wu-Tang slang is MAD FUCKIN DANGEROUS, and more
deadly than the stroke of an axe." Wow. If you've
never heard these deadly poetics, peep these verbals
on the third verse from Inspectah Deck:

This was what heads all over were fiending for - a crew
of brash rappers whose sword-sharp styles could slice up
a track verbally. RZA provided the filthiest nastiest
beats in the industry, and his fellow Clan members ate
them up like beans and rice. Again and again the hits
flow all over this album - the hilarious and raw "Shame
on a Nigga" featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard, the brutal
genius of GZA's solo "Clan in Da Front", and the
lethal all-star combination of "Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber"
where each Clan member seems to be trying to outspit
the others with pure hotness - although Method Man's
"I be that insane nigga from the psycho ward; I'm
on the TRIGGAH, plus I got the Wu-Tang sword" verse
may be the most memorable of all.

This album stands the test of time because the sound it
created was so revolutionary, the imagery so vivid and
powerful, and the lyricists were truly inspired by their
first chance to shine in the world of rap. They attacked
with everything they had, and in so doing released an
album of phenomenal hits: "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'",
"Method Man", and the all time hip-hop classics "C.R.E.A.M."
and "Protect Ya Neck." They released an unprecedented
number of singles and videos for one album, and every one
was a box office smash. The album was so successful it
garnered all of the individual members the freedom to
record and release their own solo albums, and over the
last decade we've been treated to gems by every member
except Masta Killa (WHERE THE ALBUM AT ALREADY?).

The only thing one can say to present a fair amount of
balance and bias to this review is that the track "Tearz"
was just.. okay. It only suffers by not being as
powerful as it's contemporaries, even though it's still
a great song. The concluding "Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber -
Part II" wasn't really necessary either, but the new
mix with the "mo' dirty" bassline is still fun to hear.
Listening to this album won't just give you a sense of
why the Wu-Tang Clan went on to achieve greatness; it
will show you they WERE brilliant from the jump.
The album started out slowly, but word of mouth and
continuing radio play for the singles accelerated the
sales until millions of copies were sold and the industry
veterans who missed the boat wondered where they went wrong.
Clean was out, dirty was in, and the Clan put their strong
visual imagery and powerful lyrics right in your face.
The pendulum swung back in the opposite direction a few
years later with Puff Daddy, but the mark had been set
and the rap world hasn't been the same since.